Mar. 21, 2025 -- Congratulations to Heights High students Derrick Fair, Dametriana Blade, and Tyreece Tatum for being the Tremco Rising Stars program’s first-ever national ice box champions!

During the past few months, the Cleveland Heights Rising Stars have been focused on the national ice box challenge, a scientific demonstration that visually highlights the benefits of using energy-efficient building practices. 

Within the cohort, student groups competed against one another to design the most thermally strong and effective ice box. This allowed the students to collaborate, construct unique designs and troubleshoot problems. Not only was this an opportunity for friendly competition within their cohort, but the winning group’s ice box was also judged against the Boston, Brooklyn and Charlotte winners to determine the national champion.

“Derrick, Dametriana, and Tyreece’s ice box design was not only thermally strong and watertight but also the most efficient, with the least amount of melted ice,” said David Hutchinson, the director of the Rising Stars Program for Tremco CPG. “This extraordinary achievement reflects the Cleveland team’s dedication, innovation and collaborative spirit.”

The Rising Stars Program is designed to empower the next generation of underrepresented youth aged 16-24 by providing opportunities for sustainable careers in construction. Led by industry veterans, the curriculum includes seminars and hands-on training in carpentry, project management, solar panel installation, roofing, construction management and architecture.

The program offerings are available to high school aged students, after-school, starting in the fall of 2024. This allows students to engage with the program without having to modify their existing course schedules.